Ami
by BlackOpal
Summary: After Satine's death, Christian is left broken. But there's a new girl in town, one that's completely different from Satine, but like her, she fell in love with Christian the first moment she saw him. Yes, you may hate me for this, I'll win you back.
1. Meeting Ami

Title: Ami (duh)  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything like the Moulin Rouge, you know stuff like that, they belong to Baz. The only thing I do own is Ami and Lord William.  
  
Dedication: To SugarPrincess who spent her days online, reassuring me that she loved me even when I ate worms.  
  
Sixteen-year-old Ami squirmed in her seat. She was sitting front row in the theater of the Moulin Rouge. The lights were high and the music was pounding in her ears. Ami had a migraine but she didn't care, she was seeing this show! Spectacular Spectacular was amazing! She loved the love story behind it.  
  
"Are you enjoying the performance, my sweet?" Lord William asked her, his thick English accent easily heard.  
  
"Oh yes, very much so!" Ami responded.  
  
Lord William had been kind enough to offer to take her to the show. She looked at the man. He was tall, dark and handsome, yet Ami didn't love him. Of course she liked him . . . but love? That was a different story. Love should be something special, something final, and something worth more than anything else in the world. No, Ami didn't love him. But she didn't have a choice did she; she thought looking at her finger. She would have to fall in love with him. The ring on her finger glistened in the glare of the stage lights. She was betrothed to him; she had no one left except him. Her mother died giving birth to her and her father died with his wife. Lord William took care of her and raised her. He was more like a father to her, yet she was to marry him.  
  
"Dearest," Lord William said placing his hand on top of hers. "The show's starting again."  
  
Hiding her left hand in her pocket she settled further into the seat. The maharaja was speaking.  
  
"Open the doors!" He cried. With little delay, the doors flew open. But what was this? The courtesan had someone else in her hands. Ami gasped, he was strikingly beautiful. He had black hair; it was mused but still . . . grand and sophisticated. His eyes were blue like the sky and his complexion was tan. His face was stricken with pain, and as she looked, so was the courtesan's. What was going on?  
  
"Hahaha." The maharaja said, laughing nervously. " I am not fooled, though he has shaved off his beard and adopt a disguise; my eyes do not lie! For it is he, the same penniless sitar player! Driven mad by jealousy!"  
  
A sigh went through the crowd and Ami let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. The sitar player jerked the courtesan to her feet. They walked a few steps but she fell. The sitar player, his face emotionless looked at her, then to the crowd.  
  
"This woman is yours now. I've paid my whore! I owe you nothing. and you is nothing to me." He sucked in breath, and continued. "Thank you for curing me of this ridiculous obsession with love!" He walked away and paused, stopping at the front seat. That was where the Duke sat! What a treat! Ami thought. The Duke got a taste of the show. She switched her attention from the fleeing actor to the courtesan. She was sobbing. This was a good show! It all looked so real!  
  
"This sitar player doesn't love you! See he flees!" The maharaja went over to the courtesan and whispered something in her ear. "And now my bride it's time for you to raise your voice to the Heaven and say your wedding vows." The courtesan was reluctant to get up. Sobbing on her arm, she arose with the maharaja. Music started to play and the sitar player was almost forgotten.  
  
"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love, and be loved in return!" What? Where did that come from? It was a great quote. Ami put it in the back of her mind. The courtesan looked up once again the pain in her face showing.  
  
"Never knew, I could feel like this." She softly sang.  
  
"Like I've never seen the sky, before.  
  
Want to vanish inside your kiss." She added, her voice growing louder.  
  
"Everyday I love you more and more.  
  
Listen to my heart, can you hear is sing.  
  
Come back to me,  
  
And forgive everything!" She stopped, choking on air, gasping for breath.  
  
"Seasons may change,  
  
Winter to spring.  
  
But I love you,  
  
Until the end of time." She finished. A hush went over the crowd, they had no idea what was going on.  
  
"Come what may," The sitar player. Everyone turned, all eyes on him, the handsome one that had caused so much confusion.  
  
"Come what may,  
  
Come what may,  
  
Come what may.  
  
I will love you,  
  
Until my dying die." Ami didn't hear them go on. She was absorbed in their eyes. They were truly in love. Ami was sure of that. She soon was alone in her world, love. She wanted, needed, had to have love!  
  
"Darling?" She awoke to the sound of Lord William's voice and the audience applauding. "Darling, the shows over."  
  
"Is it? I must have fallen a sleep, silly me! My dear, who did the courtesan end up with?"  
  
"The sitar player. A silly choice if you ask me. The maharaja could have given the courtesan anything and yet she chose love." The Lord looked at Ami as if telling her to agree.  
  
"Yes, I agree completely." So the courtesan ended with the satire player. Good. They were in love; they should end up together.  
  
"Shall we go?" The Lord asked, offering Ami his hand.  
  
"Yes, let's." They rode home in the Lord's carriage to the Lord's home.  
  
As soon as Ami had had her fill of food she excused herself and went to her room. There she bathed and stepped into bed. Ami fell asleep thinking about the wonderful love story and the gorgeous man.  
  
******  
  
"Hello, my darling." Lord William said over his morning coffee as Ami sat down across from him. "There's an article in the paper about the show we saw." He slid the paper down the table keeping a section for himself.  
  
"Thank you." She smiled a fake smile.  
  
She picked it up and started to read. "William," She said. "Did you know the star of the show was dead?" She asked, her voice wavering.  
  
"Is that so? That's too bad she was such a pretty little thing." He barely glanced up from the stock section of the news.  
  
"It says she died in the arms of her lover, The Duke." She stopped, that couldn't be right. The courtesan loved the Sitar player, not The Duke.  
  
"That's nice." He set down his paper, "My dear, why don't you go shopping for a new dress, we're having a dinner party tonight."  
  
"On such short notice! What will I wear?" The look on her face gave the Lord delight.  
  
"I'm sure you'll find something you'll look stunning in, you always do." He went back to his paper.  
  
Ami, seeing that she wouldn't get another word from him, walked out of the dining room, eager to get changed for a day of shopping.  
  
****** (One year later)  
  
"Ami! Ami wake up." The seventeen-year-old awoke to the shakings of the maid. "My dear it's the Lord, he's calling for you. Hurry!" The maid tossed Ami a robe and grabbed her hand, leading her to the Lord's chambers.  
  
As soon as Ami entered the doors she screamed in seeing the state of the Lord. With the amount of cuts and bruises on his body, she knew he would not survive the night. She tried to turn and run, but the butler caught her.  
  
"My dear." The Lord rasped. "Come here." Ami shook her head, but the butler pushed her forward. "It all happened so quickly, the carriage, the horses. I didn't see it coming. My dear, you are to have my mansion. You're to have my money, anything I have, you now have. I love you my dear . . ." The Lord stopped. "I love you. I had hoped one day you'd grow to love me too."  
  
"But I do love you." The Lord raised a hand to stop her.  
  
"No, you don't. I see your eyes, I know." The Lord battled for breath. He touched her face, pain grimicing through his face. "The good God wants my life, he shall have it. Julie, take care of her, when I'm-" The Lord was dead, he stopped breathing in the middle of the sentence.  
  
Ami screamed again. What was she to do now? Who would love her now?  
  
"Julie!" She yelled, wiping away tears. "Get my coat."  
  
"But Miss-"  
  
"GET my coat!"  
  
"Very well Miss." The maid left the sobbing girl. Leaving the butler alone with her. He was afraid. Ami gazed back to him. He saw the pain and anger in her eyes and backed away. Satisfaction pumped threw her body but Ami didn't know why. Julie soon came back with a fur-lined coat and the relief in the room was evident.  
  
Ami snatched it from the maid and ran out. Where she was going she had no idea, anywhere. Anywhere that was away from here. She hurt, so much she couldn't stand it.  
  
Ami walked to a little park. The park was five miles away, had she really walked that far? There it was the Moulin Rouge. It was the theater where she had first seen him. It was closed now, no Diamond Dogs to run it. But where was he? It didn't matter, she was alone.  
  
"I'm alone!" She screamed. Snow began to fall, adding another coat to the first one. "I'm alone!" It was an amazing feeling. A feeling she couldn't remember having, and a feeling she would never forget.  
  
Frustrated, she took off the ring and threw it in the snow. "No one loves me! I am alone."  
  
"I know how it feels." She turned around, startled. "To be alone I mean." Ami stared at the man; she couldn't see his face. He bent to pick up the ring. "It is an awful feeling, painful. One you never get over." He was standing next to her now. He took the ring slipped it back onto Ami's finger. "I want to help you. You're never alone." He said whispering in her ear. "I'm here now." And then he kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, thinking a thousand thoughts at once. But most of all, so this is what it's like, to be in love. 


	2. Sparkling Diamond, Glistening Ruby

Disclaimer: Moulin Rouge is not mine, it's Baz's. However I do own Ami and Lord William.  
  


Dedication: To whoever reads this and likes it. I'm sure there's gonna be some that hate the way I made Satine look. Sorry :(!  
  


A/N: Ok, I admit it! I did make Satine look bad. I love Satine, I REALLY do, but this story would work better if Ami hates Satine wouldn't it? I mean come on, which sounds better, 'Satine was my first love but I love you now.' OR 'I still love Satine but now I love you, but Satine was my first love, how can I forget her?' I, personally like the 2nd one. What about you guys? 

          Yes, I do think that Christian could fall in love this fast, he's hurt and needs love. As for the song, I tried to make it clear that he had betrayed Satine and was hurt. I knew this story would be controversial, *hangs head* I just want you guys to like it!  
  


She woke in a foreign bed. The feel of the sheets was odd on her skin. Her comforters at home were silks, these . . . she didn't know what these were made of. The sound of clicking made her look over. There he was, handsome as ever, bent over a notebook, pen in hand. He had shaven his beard and his eyes were lit, he was so different from last night.   
  


He stopped clicking the pen when he saw she was awake, and realized it might be keeping her awake. He smiled and she smiled, it was contagious. Getting up, he closed the gap between them with no space to separate him from her. He sat on a chair next to the bed. 

It dawned on her, looking at his tired face, that he had sat there all night. She had the only bed. She reached to run her fingers through his hair. He turned away and she got the air instead.   
"I sat up thinking what I was going to say to you. It's not right, you and I. I'm twenty-one and you can't be more than fifteen." His voice was steady but still unsure.  
"I'm seventeen." Ami frowned. "Old enough to marry!"   
He looked away; the thought of marriage hurt him. He would have married Satine, now . . . Oh Satine, his beautiful Satine. She was now buried in the park just outside his window. He had been talking to her, and Ami showed up. The young girl was in so much pain and anger, how could he not have helped her. 

When he saw her, her eyes filled with tears, he suddenly fell in love with her. She was so much like Satine.   
  


"Still . . . You being in this apartment . . ." He looked to his hands. "I'm not your kind. I barely have money to buy myself food. When I saw you in the park I thought you were alone, like me. When I brought you up here, I saw that your coat was not only made of mink, but also lined with seal on the inside! I wanted to ask so many questions but you were so exhausted. No!" He stood up. "It can't work. It shouldn't work!" She put a hand on his wrist and pulled him down with amazing strength. She sat up and moved toward him. She buried her face into the side of his neck. Every part of him was aware of her. His skin tingled under her touch, one hand on his shoulder and the other on his neck. His hands longed to touch her, but he restrained, she was rich he was not, it wasn't right. He decided to try again.  
  


"I don't even know your name." He told her.   
  


Her face was still embedded in his neck; her hands still placed on his skin.   
  


"Ami," She murmured, lips against his skin. He wanted her to say more, he loved the feeling of her. They were one body; the rest of the world had disappeared. She pulled him down on top of her.   
  


"Yours?" He placed his head into her neck, so she would get the same jolt.  
  


"Christian." Ami laughed.  
  


"Well then Christian, I love you! I really truly love you!" Christian laughed too. She loved him.  
  


"I love you too." Ami laughed and landed a kiss on his lips. "Good, get me home." 

She commanded, so he did. 

************

Ami and Christian walked hand in hand. Christian looked over at his lover, but she was lost in thought. Her eyes were distant and her lips pressed upon each other.  
  


"What?" He whispered. She stopped and turned to him.  
  


"Darling, you're not going to be accepted by the people at my house. They aren't going to like you." Ami's face was troubled; lines of thought covered her entire face.  
  


"What's the matter?" Christian asked. He forced Ami down onto the curb of the park.  
  


"Before . . . I was engaged Christian. I was to be married." Christian looked confused and he dropped her hand. Her eyes refused to look at him. She was hurting.  
  


"But there was no ring. The ring," His face shifted to a gaze of realization. "But it wasn't a diamond . . ."  
  


"Lord William, my fiancée gave me a ruby, it was my birthstone. He always thought it looked better than diamonds." She looked over to him.   
  


Christian was bent over, sobbing uncontrollably. Ami placed her hand on his arched back.   
  


"Christian?" She said fighting back a sob. It hurt her to see him in so much pain. "Christian!" He wouldn't look up, wouldn't stop wailing. She shook him but he still ignored her. Exasperated, she threw her body over his shaking body. "Please," She whispered into his ear. "Please tell me what's wrong!"   
  


"Satine!" He cried. "Oh God, Satine please forgive me!"  
  


"What are you talking about? Please," She uncurled his violently trembling frame and hugged him tight. "Please! Tell me!"   
  


"Satine, I loved her." He said.  
  


"Who's Satine?"  
  


"The diamond. My diamond." He whispered.

Ami shivered without meaning to. He just summed up all the reason for his pain in four words.  
  


And then Ami knew. It was the actress from the play. The beautiful courtesan had claimed her Christian's heart for her own.   
  


Ami stroked his hair, inhaling the scent from it.   
  


"I'm sorry, Ami." He said straightening, as if suddenly remembering that there was someone new in his life, a _new _love. "I'm so sorry. I don't know what to do. I loved . . . love her, but now she's dead. Now I have you." He kissed her lips but she pulled away and stood up. "No! No Ami, I'm sorry. Please," He grabbed her hand and rubbed it on his cheek. His skin was pale and clammy. "Don't leave me, I love you."   
  


Ami shook her head. "I can't." She pulled back. "Christian you're broken and . . . I can't. I can't be with you until you know what you want. I know you loved your diamond, but can't I be your ruby?" Her voice was dead, monotone. "Your love died with your heart. Can't you understand that you'll never love me until you let go of her? I know I love you Christian, but I'm not sure if you love me." Ami had a hard time deciding if this was right. He did love her, but not with all his heart. Trying to convince herself that this was the right thing to do, she slipped her address into his shirt pocket. He was in too much despair to notice. "I love you Christian." She kissed him for what could be the last time she ever would and left.   
  


"Ami," He screamed to her retreating back. Onlookers shivered. There was so much pain in the voice. "Come what may!" He yelled. He stopped breathing, inhaling sharply. Did he just? NO! He just used their song, Satine and his. THAT WAS THEIR SONG! He sobbed uncontrollably. He loved Ami but to use their song? How could he? 

He'd betrayed Satine!  
  


Somehow he picked up himself. He needed the green fairy; she's all he had now.   
*****  
  


Ami heard his calls but didn't turn back. She couldn't. Christian needed to find whom he wanted most; he had to bury Satine.   
  


Satine. 

The name rang inside her head, over and over. It was taunting her. Satine was the one who held his heart, not her. Damn her! Ami wanted Christian, she needed him and he needed her. But Satine was his first love and that would never change, no matter how much she wanted it to.   
  


  
   
  



	3. Marrying Uncle Larson

Disclaimer: Not mine, all Baz. Oh wait! I own Ami, Lord William and Ami. Copyrights for those three go to moi!

Ami was lost without him. There was no way around it. She was alone, completely. She had no one else, except for maybe the maid and butler. She had no friends, except for those at the stuffy parties Lord William had taken her to. But there was no one her age there, no one she could trust, no one she could gossip too, not even a sister. Her mother had not lived long enough to have one. 

But wait! Why hadn't she thought of it before! Of course! She could invite her Uncle Larson. So he wasn't her uncle, more like a good family friend. He knew her parents from childhood. He told her stories of her parents when she was little. 

Sure, she barely spoke to her dear friend but she knew that he would come for her and take her away from this place, away from the memories. 

Away from Christian.

Oh how awful that sounded. How could she separate from him? He needed her and she needed him. But they had fallen in love to hard and to fast. One day. After one day they were in love? That seemed so odd, how could something so special like love happen. 

She flopped onto the bed just to hide her head in the sheets. Tears rolled down her face and Ami unable to resist them, sobbed harder. 

Oh Christian, her beloved Christian. How she loved him. Why was it like this, why did Lord William die, why was Christian still so in love with his diamond? Why did the diamond get Christian when she was left with nothing?

She got up with gained courage and walked across the plush carpeting to her vanity and took out stationary, dabbed her feather into the ink and began to write.

_Dearest Uncle Larson,_

_As you must have heard by now, Lord William is dead. _

_I am alone, heartbroken and full of agony. You must come, please, to cheer me. Rid me of this awful disease called heartache._

_Forever yours,_

_Lady Ami LeBlanc_

She read the letter. It sounded like a confession of love. 

But wasn't that what she wanted? She didn't want to be alone. Uncle Larson would make a very good husband.

She rang the small bronze bell for the maid who came within minutes.

"I need you to run this to the mailbox. It's important. I want it to be mailed today." Ami said, looking straight at the maid.

The maid nodded and left.

Her future had now been decided.

*****

Bottles were thrown everywhere; fairies looked at the broken man from every corner of the tiny room.

"Well green fairy, everyone's left me. Satine's gone, and now Ami. When are you going green fairy?" He stared at the bottle. Unblinking eyes stared back at him.

He threw it against the wall.

He picked up every bottle and threw it against the wall; millions of pieces of glass shattered everywhere. 

When there were no more bottles left, he threw his chair, his desk even his precious typewriter, the very same one he had bought back, just to remember Satine.

He let out a long scream, one that seemed to last forever. One scream held all of his pain and torment. Sliding down the wall to the floor, he brushed away the glass that cut into his skin, and ignored the bloody marks. Tears fell to the ground. They were everlasting. 

He was in so much agony. He had lost everything.

His eyes lingered to the nightstand where his book lay. He never published it and he never wanted to. It was their story. Only theirs.

He flipped to the book to the end. He read it aloud.

_"'You've got to go on Christian.' Satine, my darling angel, pleaded to me. But I couldn't. I couldn't say yes, not if it meant leaving Satine. She was everything to me._

_'I can't go on without you.' I said, I couldn't see straight, my eyes were too clouded with tears._

_'You've got so much to live for.' She breathed, gasping for air to fill her aching lungs. _

_It was then that I realized that she wouldn't leave me until I granted this one promise. She wanted me to be happy. I choked at the thought of being happy without her . . . I nodded my head, knowing deep down this was the end."_

Christian stopped, remembering every single word Satine ever said to him, every kiss she gave him, every smile she sent him. Then, somehow, Ami crept into his memory. He soon began remembering everything about her. He felt he was betraying Satine, how could he ever live without her? But he loved Ami. He loved her so much it hurt.

Then he knew.

Satine had wanted him to be happy.

Ami made him happy.

*****

Ami waited at the bay window. She watched the butler unload her uncle's things. She watched the butler carry them up the walk to the house. She watched her uncle walk up the walkway behind him. 

She watched everything as if it was happening to someone else, because she knew; she knew that if this was her life. It was a new beginning, and the old Ami along with everything and everyone she'd ever known was gone forever. Including Christian.

Her uncle was smart, handsome, kind and gentle. She would marry, have children and be a respectable wife. She would finally be rid of Lord William, and as she forced the thought into her head, she would finally be rid of Christian.

Wasn't that what she wanted?


End file.
